BERWICK Bank Wind Farm is actually a misnomer, as it’s located at the mouth of the Firth of Forth between East Lothian and Fife, rather than further south.

But its potential is huge, being able to provide energy for almost 3 million homes. In Scotland we only have some 2.5 million households, so we can provide for all our own needs and more.

Yet as things stand, neither revenue nor jobs are coming to East Lothian, and now it seems that 40 per cent of the energy produced will go directly south. That means not only that the jobs and income are lost but so is the energy itself. With no payments made to compensate for that, it’s more like the Berwick Bank robbery.

Scotland has seen its oil and gas resource go south. Now it’s renewables that are likewise being exploited. With more than enough energy to supply our own needs, it’s right we should export it. But it’s perverse that there’s no payment for it and that’s worsened by the inability of so many here to just heat their homes.

At the same time, it looks as if strikes are looming in many sectors and I can understand why. With inflation running at closer to 13 per cent, offers of pay rises such as the two per cent for local government workers are simply unacceptable. These are workers after all who were rightly lauded during Covid, as they cared for the vulnerable and kept our communities ticking over.

Over past years, rises have been non-existent or limited; with the cost of living rocketing, significant rises are now needed just to try and keep many families’ heads above water.

I’ve been supporting those who have had to resort to strike action. It’s not what they want to do but what they’ve been forced into, as the wage offers are inadequate. Threats by the Tory Government to restrict strike action are reprehensible in a democracy. Similarly, the failure of opposition leaders to support is shameful. I’ll be supporting the RMT this week, as well as backing other workers in their struggles.